Self-locking box.



R. O. HAMMOND.

SELF LOCKING BOX.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 2e, 1914.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

`E sTATEs PATE eonirica.

noname o. ein,l on raammenann, New Tomi, AssIeNon. Tonnes B. emanano, or New To, n. T. n i l SELF-LOCKING BOX..

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ROBERT 0. HAMMOND l a citizen of the United States, and resident of Farmingdale, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Self- Locking Boxes, of which the following is a specification. n

rlhis invention relates to a box or contalner for the usual purpose for holding or packing articles for the trade or for transmission by mail, express, or otherwise, the box being especially designed for parcel post service because of its peculiar construction whereby danger to the hands of the postman and others who handlethe boxes, as well as danger to other mail matter, is wholly eliminated.

-The general ob'ects of the present invention are to improve and simplify receptacles -of the character described, so as to render them thoroughly reliable and elicient in use, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and easily manipulated.

More specifically the objects of the invention are to provide a tieless or stringless box of that type in which the cover and body sections t one within the other and which are provided with devices at one or both end walls or at other points whereby the cover 4section is automatically locked on the body section by the mere act of placing the cover section in closed position and when so locked, the sections can be unlocked only by the application of pressure exerted in a special marner for releasing the devices on one section ,f rom those on the other, the arrangement of.' the devices being such that the sections cannot be accidentally unlocked.

ln carrying out the invention, the body and cover sections are provided on correspending walls at one or both ends or sides, with shoulders which extend horizontally and are disposed in such relation that when the cover section is placed in-position the shoulders thereon will pass and engage under the shoulders on the body section tol therebyv lock the sections together. To enable the shoulders to be released, the shoul der bearing walls of the cover section have openings or nger holes through which the lingers can be inserted to press the shoulder bearing walls of the body section inwardly to disengage the shoulders thereof from the shoulders of the cover section, so that `while p Specification of Letters Patent.

ratentea Mana, teta.

application med March as, me. smal nu. 827,379.

For a more complete understanding'of the invention, reference is to be had to the'following description and claims, taken in connection vwith the accompanying drawing, wherein similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts and wherein Figures l and 5 are longitudinal sections of the cover and box body when the cover is in closed position. Figs. 3 and 6 are sections of the coverl and box body showing the position of the arts when pressure is applied to open the ox. Figs. 2 and i are sections of the box body showing the arrangement of the shoulders or Haps. Fig. 7 is an end view of the box body and cover in closed position.

Referring to the drawing A4 designates the body sectionof' the box and B the cover section which is shown as telescoping over the body section. rllhe two sectionsof the receptacle may be made of any material suitable for its intended use.

ln the present instance locking means are provided at both ends of the box, but it is to be understood that the locking means may be provided at only one end or at one or all sides. 'lhe locking'means comprises an internal shoulder l on the end wall 2 of the cover and an external shoulder 3 on the end wall 4 of the body. When the shoulders interlock they lie substantially in the same plane and hence prevent separation of the sections of the box, since the shoulders are transverse to the line of the separating movement. rlhe shoulder bearing walls i of the body section are yieldable inwardly to permit the shoulders 3 to bedisengaged from the shoulders 1, when the cover section can be taken od. To facilitate this releasing of the shoulders, the end walls 2 of the cover section have openings 5 to enable the ngers to` be inserted to engage the shoulders 3 and press the latter and the wall 4 inwardly from the shown in ig. 3. While the shoulders are thlus released the cover section can be lifted o @nel convenient manner of making the shoulders l and 3 is as shown in Fig. 5, to provide aps 6 and 7 on the cover andbody sections respectively. '.lhe Haps 6 extend upwardly from and are connected with the osition shown in Fig. l to that bottom edge of the walls 2 and their u per edges form the shoulders 1 which exten ap-` proximately the width of the ends of the cover section. The iaps 7. extend down- Wardl yfrom and are connected with the upper e ges of thewalls 4 of the body section and their lower edges 'form the shoulders 3. By xleans of these iaps the closing of the cover section on the body section 1s easily accomplished, for the iiaps 6 slide downwardly on the flaps 7, which latter yield inwardly during this movement, and as soon as the-cover is fully closedvthe shoulders 3 spring out and snap over the shoulders 1 and' remain locked in this position until released as explained.

It Willbe observed-that the flaps or abut-- p ments on the wall oie-the two telescoping members andthe opening in the wall of one member are so disposed in relation to one another that when the two members are partially separated from each other the opening in the wall affords communication between the interior and exterior of the box so that under some conditions the contents of the box may' be discharged through the said' opening, ortho contents may be inspected through the opening.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A box or receptacle comprisin telescoping members, each memberbeing ormed with an abutment arranged to .interlock one with the other, and one member formed with an opening in its wall registering with one of the abutments to permit disengagement of the abutments 1n separatin the telescoping members, said opening a ording commnnicationbetween the interior and exterior ofthe box on partial se aration of the two members of the box an the regis-r tering abutment extendin ing in a plane parallel wlth adjacent walls of the members and bearin against the other abutment in the plane o the two abutments when the two members are telescoped one with the other.

2. A box or receptacle comprising tele'- scoping members, lone member being provided with a free Hap on its vouter face and the other provided wlth an abutment on theinside of one of its walls to interlock with thev edge of said flap and formed with an opening in its wall opposite the flap. to enable the flap and abutment to be disengaged in separating the two members, said iap constituting a closure to said opening and a cut-olito communication between the interior and exterior of the box when the two members are in locked engagement.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 25th day of March,' A-. D. 1914:t

Y ROBERT o. HAMMOND. Y

Witnesses:

AN'roiNm'rn VOLK, L. R. SMITH.

across the open- 

